John Kørner

With lightness of touch and painterly dexterity, John Kørner explores his medium’s fundamental duality – its physical presence and its descriptive powers – and the potential for communication or miscommunication that ensues. Kørner’s Problems – oval or egg-like forms that appear in his paintings and as sculptures – allude not to specific problems per se but to the nature of problems as they emerge and are comprehended in the world. They act as metaphors for the human condition and trigger questions about representation, knowledge, or faith – fundamental existential issues or those that allude to specific world events. The accelerated pace of contemporary life is a conceptual touchstone, drawing on ideas of altered states and the sublime in nature while investigating the aesthetics and codes of sport, consumerism and leisure.

Kørner’s work ranges across formats and scales, travelling through art historical tropes and pictorial languages. The social aspect of the viewing experience is of particular interest to the artist, who sometimes shows his work outside the traditional confines of the gallery and creates installations in which elements of theatre and performance add to a sense of collective experience.

About the Artist

Born in Århus, Denmark in 1967, John Kørner lives and works in Copenhagen.

John Kørner: Intercontinental Super Fruits, the first solo museum exhibition of Kørner's work in the United States, was recently on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, USA (2021–22). His work was also recently on view at Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg with the solo exhibition CRAZY AWAKE (2024); and in Work it Out, a group exhibition addressing the working life of the future (2022).

Previously, Kørner has had solo exhibitions at institutional venues including Konsthall 16/Riksidrottsmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden (2019); Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium (2018); Helsinki Contemporary, Helsinki, Finland (2018); Museum Emma, Espoo, Finland (2018); Brandts, Odense, Denmark (2016); Museum Belvedere, Oranjewoud, Netherlands (2016); Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, Denmark (2003, 2013); The Workers' Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark (2011); ARoS Århus Kunstmuseum, Denmark (2006) and Moderna Museet, Sweden (2005).

Kørner's work is held in institutional collections including Arken, Museum of Modern Art, Denmark; ARoS, Århus Museum of Art, Denmark; HEART - Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, Hearning, Denmark; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden; National Gallery of Canada - Musée des beaux-arts du Canada, Canada; National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark; Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, Denmark; Rubell Family Collection, Miami, USA; Statens Museum for Kunst - SMK, Denmark; Tate, UK.